1
as in to rub
to make smooth by friction
after sawing the board in half, rasp the ends to remove any splinters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to annoy
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
the two siblings seemed intent on rasping each other for the entire car trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to wear
to damage or diminish by continued friction
during the last ice age, glaciers rasped the surface, leaving the deeply scarred rock
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rasp
Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2025
Her strong, confident country voice shone through immediately in her performance of this Judds song, with just enough rasp to really give it some edge.
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 29 Sep. 2025
Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 15 Dec. 2025
She’s preoccupied though, training a gun on the facility’s head officer, Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), whose RFK Jr. rasp and licentious focus on Perfidia sets him up as a comedic draw and a convincing picture of America’s sanctioned white violence.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Noun
Kirbi, that rasp is so beautiful at the top of your register.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2025
Her strong, confident country voice shone through immediately in her performance of this Judds song, with just enough rasp to really give it some edge.
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
Sea lampreys are parasites, feeding by attaching to fish with their suction mouth, using their tongue to rasp a hole through the fish's skin, and consuming the blood and juices that flow out.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 15 Dec. 2025
She’s preoccupied though, training a gun on the facility’s head officer, Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), whose RFK Jr. rasp and licentious focus on Perfidia sets him up as a comedic draw and a convincing picture of America’s sanctioned white violence.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rasp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rasp
Noun
-
Retailers have historically counted on scratch-ticket and numbers-game players to visit stores to buy tickets.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
-
Friday afternoon, all the work of building something from scratch paid off.—
John Maffei,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
Inoculation involved taking pus from a pock of someone with a not-very-severe case of smallpox, making a cut in the arm of the person to be inoculated, and rubbing the pus into the cut.—
Diana Gitig,
ArsTechnica,
30 May 2026
-
And that really rubbed committee members last cycle the wrong way and may have worked against them.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Proxy services are often used for illicit or unethical purposes such as performing DDoS attacks, running botnet command-and-control servers, operating phishing operations, and scraping website content.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
29 May 2026
-
During that time, crews will scrape up old lines and paint new ones, ITD spokesperson Jill Youmans told the Idaho Statesman on Friday.—
Rose Evans
May 29,
Idaho Statesman,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Ever been annoyed after Windows setup that your user folder has a weird name?—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
28 May 2026
-
The suspension is a nice blend between comfort and sport—the sweet spot where breaks in the asphalt don’t annoy, yet body roll never feels excessive.—
Michael Harley,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Mark, on a skateboard, and Jacob, also wearing inline skates, followed a little more than an arm’s length behind.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
-
There’s a similar amount of personality within Hadspen House, where a Roman bust wears a necklace of seashells and a snug room is decorated in the colors of the croquet set outside on the lawn.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Mr Cobra opens like a dark, cobwebbed staircase leading into a vast and foreboding space, all frantic flute and piano, creaks, and bone-chilling screeches (not to mention a slutty monologue seemingly communicated via Google Translate).—
Hattie Lindert,
Pitchfork,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Your baby was waking at every creak of the floorboard, every passing car, every branch scraping the window.—
Allison Palmer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In 2024 and 2025, four hearing officers in the appeals unit filed complaints against the department, leading to three internal investigations by human resources, according to a separate, outside probe conducted by Flynn Investigations Group, a firm specializing in workplace reviews.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
Now, Kal Pacific and principal Don Veasey are coming back to Boise with a six-story concept with five floors of apartments atop ground-floor commercial space and basement parking, according to documents filed with the city.—
Mark Dee
May 31,
Idaho Statesman,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
His doctor had been bugging him for years to get a colonoscopy because of his age, but Driggers declined.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2026
-
Get clear about what’s bugging you.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rasp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rasp. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
